Writing Assignment for Racial Profiling Module

Writing Assignment for Racial Profiling Module

Connecting Reading to Writing

Discovering What You Think

Activity 15:Considering the Writing Task

Readingtheassignmentcarefully tomakesureyouaddressall aspectsofthepromptisimportant.

WritingTask

Writeanessaythatpresentsyouropinionona controversialissue ofyourchoice.Consultvariousmediasourcesifyouneedsome ideas.Beginwitha debatablethesisstatement. Thenfollowtheguidelinesforwritinganargumentessay.Asyouwriteyouressay, besureyousupport yourclaimswithwell-chosenevidence.Ifsomethinginthemedia(suchas a newspaper article,ad,or speech)inspired thisassignment,attacha copytoyourpaper beforeyouturnitin.

Take thefollowingstepsforthisexercise:

• Read theassignmentcarefully.

• Decidewhichissueyouaregoingtodiscuss.

• Discussthepurposeoftheassignment(whatwillyoutryto accomplishinwritingyouressay?).

Activity 16: Taking a Stance

Takinga stanceonyourtopicatthispointinthewritingprocessis essential.Thisinvolves developinga tentative thesisstatement and then“tryingon” differentperspectives withinthatframework.The twoactivities inthissectionwillguideyoutoa positiononyour topic.

Developing a TentativeThesisStatement

Tobeginthisprocess,readas manydifferentperspectives onyour topicas youcanfind.Asyouread,settleonwhatyouthinkyour stancewillbe.Thenanswerthefollowingquestions:

1. Whatspecificquestion willyouressayanswer?Whatisyour responsetothisquestion?(Thisisyourtentative thesis.)

1. Whatsupport haveyoufoundforyourthesis?

1. Whatevidencehaveyoufoundforthissupport (forexample, facts, statistics,statements fromauthorities,personalstories,and examples)?

1. Howmuchbackgroundinformationdoyourreadersneedto understandyourtopicandthesis?

1. Ifreadersweretodisagreewithyourthesisorthevalidityofyour support, whatwould theysay? Howwould youaddresstheir concerns(whatwould yousaytothem)?

Developinga tentative thesisnowwillhelpyoutakea standonthe issueyouhavechosentowriteabout.Yourthesisshouldbea complete sentencethatincludesyourtopicandyouropiniononthat topic.Itcanberevisedseveraltimes,butwillultimatelykeepyour writingontrack.Drafta possiblethesisforyouressaynow.

Trying on Words,Perspectives,and Ideas

Beforeyouactuallywritea draft,identifytwoperspectives that would disagreewithyourstandontheissue.Take ontheir perspectives, anddrafta quickwritefromeachoftheirstances.

Activity 17: Gathering Evidence to Support Your Claims

Asyoubegintochooseevidencethatwillsupport yourclaims,

youmustbeabletoevaluatethatinformation.Fromyourprevious work,listtheinformationyouareconsideringusingtoproveyour point.Foreachitemonyourlist,writedownyourresponsestothe followingquestions:

• Howdoesthepieceofevidencesupport yourclaim?

• Is ita factoropinion? Ifitisanopinion,whatfactscanyoufindto support it?

• Willtheevidencebepersuasivetoyouraudience?

Nowputa checkmarkbytheitemsthatwillserveas goodevidence basedonthesecriteria.

Activity 18: Getting Ready to Write

Thefollowingexercisewillhelpyoumovefromreadingtowriting. Onceyouhavechosena controversialissueandgatheredsome evidence,youneedtofoldinyourownthoughtsandideas.Eitherby brainstorming(listing) orfreewriting(writing yourthoughtsdownin proseas fastas theyoccur),respondtothefollowingquestions:

• Whatistheexactissue?

• Whyisitimportant?

• Dopeoplecareaboutit?

• Whatismostimportantaboutthisissue?

• Whataresomeotherpointsofviewonthistopic?

• Howdoyouthinktheissueshouldberesolved?

Writing Rhetorically

Entering the Conversation

Activity 19: Composing a Draft

Whenyouwriteanargumentessay,choosea subjectthatmatters to you.Ifyouhavestrongfeelings,youwillfinditmucheasierto gatherevidenceandconvinceyourreadersofyourpointofview. Keepinmind,however, thatyourreadersmight feeljustas strongly abouttheopposite sideoftheissue.Usethefollowingguidelinesto helpyouwriteyourargument:

1. Stateyouropiniononthetopicinyourthesisstatement.

Towritea thesisstatement foranargumentessay,youwillneed totakea standfororagainstanactionoranidea.Inotherwords, yourthesisstatement mustbedebatable—astatement thatcan be arguedorchallenged andthatwillnotbemetwithagreement byeveryonewhoreadsit.Yourthesisstatement introducesyour subjectandstatesyouropinionaboutthatsubject.

BobHerbert’sthesisishisfirstsentence:“TheNewYorkCity PoliceDepartmentneedstoberestrained.”Thisisa debatable thesis.Someotherstatements onthetopicofethnicprofiling would notbegoodthesisstatements:

• Notdebatable:Ethnicprofilingbylaw-enforcementauthorities intheUnitedStatesofteninvolves minorities.

• Notdebatable:Somelaw-enforcementagencieshavestrict rulesregardingracialprofiling.

Herbertsetsuphisessaywithsomefactsaboutracialprofiling andseveralreferencestothepracticeinNewYorkofstopping andfrisking blacksandHispanics.Thisbackgroundinformation expandsuponhisthesisstatement.

1. Findoutasmuchasyoucanaboutyouraudiencebeforeyouwrite.

Knowingyourreaders’backgroundsandfeelingsonyour topic willhelpyouchoosethebestsupportingevidenceand examples.Supposethatyouwanttoconvincepeopleintwo differentagegroupstoquitsmoking. Youmight tellthegroup

ofteenagersthatcigarettesmaketheirbreathrancid,theirteeth yellow, andtheirclothessmelly.Butwitha groupofadults,you might discussthehorrifyingstatisticsonlungandheartdisease associatedwithlong-termsmoking.

Herbert’sessaywasfirstpublishedintheNewYorkTimes,

whichaddressesa fairlyeducatedaudience.Theoriginalreaders probablythoughtmuchlikehedoesonthisissue.Sohechose hissupport as ifheweretalkingtopeoplewhoagreewithhim.

1. Chooseevidencethatsupports yourthesisstatement.

Evidenceisdefinitelythemostimportantfactorinwritingan argumentessay.Withoutsolidevidence,youressayisnothing morethanopinion;withit,youressaycanbepowerfuland persuasive.Ifyousupplyconvincingevidence,yourreaderswill notonlyunderstandyourpositionbutperhapsagreewithit.

Evidencecanconsistoffacts,statistics,statementsfromauthorities, personalstories,orexamples.Personalstoriesandexamplescan

bebasedonyourownobservations,experiences,andreading,butyouropinionsarenotevidence.Otherstrategies,suchas comparison/contrast,definition,andcause/effect,canbeparticularly usefulinbuildinganargument.Useanycombinationofevidence andwritingstrategiesthatsupportsyourthesisstatement.

Inhisessay,Herbertusesseveraldifferenttypesofevidence. Herearesomeexamples:

Facts

• Noteveryonewhoisstoppedisfrisked(par.7).

• TheCenterforConstitutionalRightsfileda class-action lawsuitagainstNewYorkandthepolicedepartment(par.11).

• PaulBrowneisthechiefspokesmanforCommissionerKelly(par.14).

Statistics

• In2009, 450,000 peoplewerestoppedbycops(par.2).

• 84 percentofthestopswereblackandHispanic(par.3).

• Contraband wasfoundin1.6 percentoftheblackcases, 1.5 percentoftheHispanic,and1.5 percentofthewhite(par.3).

• Weaponswerefoundon1.1 percentoftheblacks,1.4 percent oftheHispanics,1.7 percentofthewhites(par.4).

• Policestoppedmorethana halfmillionpeoplein2008 (par.6)

• Ofthosestopped,59.4 percentoftheHispanicswerefrisked,56.6 percentofblacks,and46 percentofwhites(par.7).

StatementsfromAuthorities

• CenterforConstitutionalRights(par.11)

• PoliceDepartment(par.13)

• PaulBrowne(par.14)

• PoliceCommissionerKelly(par.14)

• PersonalStories and Examples

• ThestoryaboutLalitCarson(par.11)

• ThestoryaboutDeonDennis(par.11)

1. Anticipateopposingpointsofview.

Inadditiontostatingandsupportingyourposition,anticipating andrespondingtoopposingviewsareimportant.Presenting onlyyoursideoftheargumentleaveshalfthestoryuntold—the opposition’shalf.Ifyouacknowledgethatthereareopposing argumentsandaddressthem,yourargumentwillbemore convincing.

Inparagraph 14, Herbertacknowledgesas oppositiona statement madebyPaulBrowneonbehalfofPoliceCommissionerKelly. Brownefeelsthestopsare“life-saving.”Byacknowledgingthis statement, Herbertraiseshiscredibility.He thengoesontorefute Browne’s claiminthenextparagraph.

1. Findsomecommonground.

Pointing outcommonground betweenyouandyouropponent isalsoaneffectivestrategy.“Commonground”referstopoints ofagreement betweentwoopposingpositions.Forexample,

onepersonmight beinfavorofguncontrol andanotherstrongly opposed.Buttheymight findcommonground—agreement—in theneedtokeepgunsoutofteenagers’hands.Locatingsomecommonground ispossibleinalmosteverysituation.Whenyou stateinyouressaythatyouagreewithyouropponentoncertain points,yourreadersees youas a fairperson.

Herbertassumesthatmostofhisreadersknowthatethnic profilingbylaw-enforcementagenciesisgoingonaroundthe country. Hisjob,then,istoprovetheextentandunfairness ofit.

1. Maintaina reasonabletone.

Justas youprobablywouldn’twinanargumentbyshoutingor makingmeanornastycomments,don’texpectyourreadersto respondwelltosuchtactics.Keepthe“voice”ofyouressaycalm andsensible.Yourreaderswillbemuchmoreopentowhatyou havetosayiftheythinkyouarea reasonableperson.

Herbertmaintainsa reasonabletonethroughouthisessay.Everynowandthen,heisaggressive—“Racialprofiling. . . isan abomination”(par.1)—andevensarcastic—a“suspiciousbulge” (par.9). Butevenwhenhequotessomeunbelievablestatistics,

as hedoesinparagraphs 2 through4, hekeepshisvoiceunder control and,therefore, earnstherespectofhisreaders.

Activity 20: Considering Structure

Allessaysshouldhavea beginning,a middle, andanend.Thisis trueofwritinginalldisciplines.Anargumentessayhasthesesame divisionswitha fewmorefeaturesthatwillcommunicateyour stanceandpresentyourclaimsas clearlyas possible.Sinceyou wantyouraudiencetoagreewithyoubytheendofyouressay,you needtoorganizeitinsucha waythatyourreaderscaneasilyfollow it.Theguidelinesinthissectionwillhelpyouorganizethematerial youhavegatheredintoa coherentessay.

Thefirstoutline showstheorderinwhichthefeaturesofan argumentessayaremosteffective:

Introduction

1. Background information

1. Introductionofthesubject

1. Statement ofyouropinion

BodyParagraphs

1. Common ground

1. Lotsofevidence(logicalandemotional)

1. Opposing pointsofview

1. Responsetotheopposingpointsofview

Conclusion

1. Restatementofyourposition

1. Callforactionoragreement

BobHerbert’sessayfollowsthegeneraloutline justpresented.Here isa skeletonoutline ofhisessay:

Introduction

1. Background informationaboutracialprofilinginNewYorkCity

1. Subjectintroduced

1. Statement ofopinion

BodyParagraphs

1. Evidence:Statistics(par.2-7)

1. Common ground: Humiliation,fear(par.8)

1. Morebackground:Reasonsforstops(par.9-10)

1. Moreevidence:Personalnarratives (par.11-12)

1. Opposing pointsofview:Policedepartment,PaulBrowne(par.13-14)

1. Responsetotheopposingpointsofview:logicalandemotional response(par.15)

Conclusion

1. Restatementofthesolution(par.16)

1. Calltoaction(par.16)

Thearrangementofyourevidenceinanargumentessaydepends toa greatextentonyourreaders’opinions.Mostargumentswill be organizedfromgeneraltoparticular,fromparticulartogeneral,

orfromoneextremetoanother.Whenyouknowthatyourreaders alreadyagreewithyou,arrangingyourdetailsfromgeneralto particularorfrommosttoleastimportantisusuallythemost effectiveapproach.Usingthisorder,youbuildonyourreaders’ agreement andloyalty as youexplainyourthinkingonthesubject.

Ifyoususpectthatyouraudiencedoesnotagreewithyou,reverse theorganizationofyourevidenceandarrangeitfromparticularto generalorfromleasttomostimportant.Inthisway,youcantake yourreadersstepbystepthroughyourreasoning inanattempt to getthemtoagreewithyou.

Organizeyouressayina waythatrepresentswhatyoujustlearnedin thissection.Thendrawhorizontallinesthroughyouressayto distinguishitsbeginning,middle, andend.Finally,labelthekey featuresofyourargumentbyusingthetermsfromthefirstoutline in thissection.

Activity 21: Using the Words of Others

Oneofthemostimportantfeaturesofacademicwritingistheuseof wordsandideasfromwrittensourcestosupport yourownpoints. Essentially,therearethreewaystoincorporatewordsandideas from sourcesintoyourownwriting:

1. Direct quotation.Bob Herbert says, “The nonstop humiliation of young black and Hispanic New Yorkers, including children, by police officers who feel no obligation to treat them fairly or with any respect at all is an abomination” (par. 1).

1. Paraphrase.In “Jim Crow Policing,” Bob Herbert notes that racial profiling in New York of black and Hispanic citizens is humiliating and unfair (par. 1).

Thisisa paraphraseofthequotationin#1; youcanalso paraphraseanentirearticlebyputtingitinyourownwords.

1. Summary.In “Jim Crow Policing,” Bob Herbert cites statistics and stories from New York City to prove that racial profilingis extensive and unjust. The New York Police Commissioner claims that these “stops” are “life-saving.” But according to the statistics the author provides, too often innocent citizens are harassed and the stops are unwarranted (par. 1).

In-TextCitation.MLAdocumentationstylealsorequiresin-textcitations foreverydirectquotation,indirect quotation,paraphrase,orsummary.

Iftheauthor’snameisgiveninthetext,thepagenumbershouldbe furnishedinparenthesesattheendofthesentencecontainingthe material.Iftheauthor’snameisnotprovidedinyouressay,putthe author’snameandpagenumberinparenthesesafterthematerial.

PracticewithSources.Choosetwopassagesfromthereading selectionthatyoumight beabletouseinyouressay.First,writedown eachpassageasacorrectly punctuateddirectquotation.Second, paraphrasethematerial inyourownwords.Finally,respondtothe ideaexpressedinthepassagebyagreeingordisagreeingwithitand explainingwhy.Nowyouarereadytousethismaterial inanessay.

Activity 22: Negotiating Voices

Onestrategytohelpyoumarktheseparatevoicesinanessaythat youwriteistouseclearintroductorylanguage,suchas thefollowing templates orsentenceframes:

GeneralPurposeFrames

• Theissueofcanbeviewedfromseveraldifferent perspectives.

• Expertsdisagreeonwhattodoabout ______.

ToIntroduce theWordsofExperts

• NotedresearcherJohnQ. Professorarguesthat______.

• Ina groundbreaking article,Hermando H. Scientiststates that ______.

• AccordingtoPatriciaA.Politician ______.

ToIntroduce ContraryViews

• However,thedatapresentedbyHermando H. Scientistshow ______.

• Ontheotherhand,TerryT. Teacherbelieves ______.

ToIntroduce YourOwnViews

• Althoughsomearguefor ______, othersarguefor ______. In myview ______.

• Thoughresearchersdisagree,clearly ______.

IdentifyingModelLanguage

ReturntothearticleyoureadbyBobHerbert,andunderlineallthe quotationsandparaphrasesintheessay.Basedonthemodelabove, explainhowtwooftheseareintroducedanddistinguishedfrom otherperspectives andquotationsintheessay.

Using ModelLanguage

Nowconsidertheevidenceintheessayyouarewriting,anduse thesemodelstowriteoneexampleforeachofthesecategories (GeneralPurpose,ToIntroduce theWordsofExperts,ToIntroduce ContraryViews,andToIntroduce YourOwnViews).Usethesamples aboveas modelsonly,andcreatea framethatfitsintothecontext

foryouressay.

Revising and Editing

Activity 23: Revising Rhetorically—Rhetorical Analysis

Arhetoricalanalysisofanessayrequiresyoutoassess writing basedonthepurposeofthewriting,themessageoftheargument, theneedsoftheaudience,andthepersonathewriter adopts.The followingquestions willgetyoustartedona rhetoricalrevision:

• Whatistherhetoricalsituation? Whoismyaudience,andwhatis mypurpose?
• Whattypesofappeals(logicaloremotional)willbemost effectivewiththisaudience?

• HowcanI establishmyownauthorityonthisissue?What credibilitydoI havewiththisaudience?

Justas itdidinyourreading,a PAPASquarecanhelpyouanalyze therhetoricalstrategiesinyourownwriting.Toapplythisexercise toyourwriting,answerthequestions aroundtheoutsideofthebox inreferencetoyourownessay.Inthecenter,identifythestylistic devicesandlogical,emotional,andethicalappealsyouuseto persuadeyouraudience.

FillinthePAPASquarebelowforyouressay.

Purpose
(Whatisthewriter’spurpose?)
Audience
(Whoisthe audience?) / Rhetorical Methods and Strategies Logical Appeals
Pathetic Appeals
Ethical Appeals
Stylistic Devices / Argument
(Whatis thethesisor argument?)
Persona
(Whatistheauthor’s personaorpublicimage?)

Quickwrite(5 minutes): Whatdidyoulearnaboutyouressayfrom thisanalysis?Writefreelyandopenlyabouttheroleoftheappealsin youressay,yourpersona,youraudience,andyourpurpose.Doyou thinkthisessaywillpersuadeyourreaders?

Activity 24: Revision Workshop

Nowthatyouhaveassessedyouressayfromyourperspective, itis timetoshareitwithsomeclassmates.

PeerGroup Work

Working ingroupsofthreeorfour,readyouressayaloudtothe othermembers ofthegroup.ThenusePartI oftheEvaluation Form providedbyyourteacheras a revising checklistforeachessay.

PairedWork

Workinpairstodecidehowyouwillrevisetheproblemsthatgroup members identified.

Individual Work

Revisethedraftbasedonthefeedbackyouhavereceivedandthe decisionsyouhavemadewithyourpartners.Considerthefollowing questions as revision guidelinesforyourindividualwork:

• HaveI responded totheassignment?

• Whatismypurposeforthisessay?

• WhatshouldI keep?Whichpartsarethemosteffective?

• WhatshouldI add?WheredoI needmoredetails,examples,and otherevidencetosupport mypoint?

• WhatcouldI delete?DoI useirrelevantdetails?AmI repetitive?

• WhatshouldI change?Arepartsofmyessayconfusingor contradictory?DoI needtoexplainmyideasmorefully?

• WhatshouldI rethink?Is mypositionclear?HaveI provided enoughanalysistoconvincemyreaders?

• Howismytone?AmI toooverbearingortoofirm?DoI need qualifiers?

• HaveI identifiedcommonground?

• HaveI addresseddifferingpointsofview?

• Doesmyconclusionshowthesignificanceofmyessay?

• HaveI usedkeyvocabularywordscorrectly toaccurately representmyideasonthistopic?

Activity 25: Considering Stylistic Choices

Everychoiceyoumakeas youwriteisstylistic. Whenyouwritea word,a phrase,ora sentencea certainway,thatisyourstyle.Since youareincomplete control ofthiscommodity, youcanchangeyour wordsandsentencestocreatecertaineffectsthatwillbesureto reachyourintended audience.

Answerthefollowingquestions aboutyourwritingstyleinthis essay.Thendecideifyouwanttomakeanychangestocreatea differenteffect.

• Howwillthelanguageyouhaveusedaffectyourreaders’ response?Areanyreferencestooharsh?Toomild?Ortoo sensitiveforyouraudience?Inotherwords,isyourlanguage appropriateforyourintended audience?
• Whichwordsorsynonymshaveyourepeated?Arethese effectiverepetitions?Explainyouranswer.
• Didyouuseanyfigurativelanguage?Whydidyouuseit?

• Whateffectswillyourchoicesofsentencestructure andlength haveonthereaders?

• Inwhatwaysdoesyourlanguageconveyyouridentityand character?

Quickwrite(5 minutes): Whatstylistic changescanI makeinmy essaytopersuademyintended audiencemoreeffectively?

Activity 26: Editing the Draft

Edityourdraftonthebasisoftheinformationyouhavereceived fromyourinstructororfroma tutor.UsePartII oftheEvaluation Formas anediting checklist.Thefollowingediting guidelineswill alsohelpyoutoedityourownwork:

• Ifpossible,setyouressayasidefor24 hoursbeforerereading it tofinderrors.

• Read youressayaloudsoyoucanhearyourerrorsandrough spots.

• Focusonindividualwordsandsentencesratherthanonthe overallmeaning. Take a sheetofpaperandcovereverything exceptthelineyouarereading.Thentouchyourpenciltoeach wordas youread.

• Withthehelpofyourteacher,figureoutyourownpatternof errors—the mostseriousandfrequent errorsyoumake.

• Lookforonlyonetypeoferrorata time.Thengobackandlook fora secondtypeand,ifnecessary,a third.

• Usea dictionarytocheckspelling andconfirmthatyouhave chosentherightwordforthecontext.

Activity 27: Responding to Feedback

Based on the activities and quickwrites you have done in the revising and editing sections, make a list of changes you want to make inyour essay. Review the criteria and explanations offered in thesetwo segments. Then revise and edit your essay in a way that reflects what you learned about your draft in this final section.

Activity 28: Reflecting on Your Writing Process

Reflectingonyourwritingisanessentialpartofimprovingonyour nextassignment.Whenyouhavecompletedyouressay,answer thesesixquestions andsubmit yourthoughtswithyourfinaldraft.

• Whatwasmostdifficultaboutthisassignment?

• Whatwaseasiest?

• Bycompletingthisassignment,whatdidyoulearnabout arguing?

• Whatdoyouthinkarethestrengths ofyourargument? Place a wavylinebythepartsofyouressaythatyoufeelareverygood.

• Whataretheweaknesses,ifany,ofyourpaper?Place anXbythe partsofyouressayyouwould likehelpwith.Writeanyquestions youhaveinthemargin.

• Whathaveyoulearnedfromthisassignmentaboutyourown writingprocess—aboutpreparingtowrite,aboutwritingthefirst draft,aboutrevising, andaboutediting?

CSU Expository Reading and Writing CourseRacial Profiling – Student Version │1